The present invention relates to a device for creating, as a function of actuators, a deployable and removable protective safety barrier of durable material between one or more work stations close to a textile machine, especially a loom of exceptional width, and moving parts in the machine, for example shuttle(s), projectile(s), etc.
The use of protective safety parts of plastic sheets, which can be applied between a work station close to a loom and the moving parts of the loom, and which can be brought into a safety position before starting the machine, is already known. The object of the protection is to prevent flying parts (cf. said shuttles, projectiles, etc.) and particles being able to injure personnel working at the machine. The protection is also intended to prevent personnel tampering with or getting in the way of the moving parts whilst the machine is in operation. Examples of looms on which the present invention is intended to be used are the TM 300 and TM 400 looms marketed by TEXO AB, SE, on the general market. The barrier or the protection can be deactivated in certain instances and activated in other instances during servicing. It can also be activated in normal operation and deactivated when the machine is at a standstill.
It is essential that adequate and effective safety measures can be taken in the case of machines of this type. Particularly in the case of large, heavy and wide looms, for example looms with widths of 2-30 meters weighing 50 tonnes or more, the moving parts operating in the machine are heavy and represent large forces, which can cause serious injury to personnel and damage to the immediate or wider surroundings of the machine if safety measures are not taken. The protection must also be capable of serving as noise and/or dust protection. There is therefore a need for efficiently functioning protection, which must not be too complex or unwieldy, however, since otherwise full use will not be made of it when it is required. The invention is intended, among other things, to solve these problems.
With certain operating functions on the machine the risks of damage or injury are exceptionally high, which means that the protection must be activated in the case of such operating functions. It is advantageous if the protection is designed so that it is activated by and during the said operating functions and removed as soon as these are completed, in order to facilitate effective servicing work at or on the machine. Instead of allowing the person involved to determine when the protection is to be activated or deactivated, the functions and situations in which the protection is to be activated may be pre-selected and the control functions of the loom also allowed to control the activation and deactivation of the protection/the barrier. The invention also solves this problem.
There is also a need for technically simple but nevertheless efficiently functioning protection. In addition the protection must also be capable of installation on machines already set up and installed, without these having to undergo extensive or costly conversion. The invention also solves this problem.
The Solution
A device according to the invention may be regarded as being essentially characterized in that the material consists of at least one sheeting and/or matting and/or of a netting, which can be fed out of and into a storage arrangement, by, in or on the machine. A further characteriztic is that at least one output feed and inlet feed member is assigned to the sheeting, matting netting or the like, for example an electrically controlled member, which can be activated by means of the aforementioned actuators in the output and inlet feeds of the sheeting, matting, netting or the like.
In a preferred embodiment of the idea of the invention, the storage arrangement comprises longitudinal, elongated elements (in the width direction of the loom) arranged against the upper parts of the machine. A first element may be rotatably arranged with a motor, preferably an electric motor. The material may rest at least on a second elongated element of the said elongated element. The second elongated element turns the web of the material down between the work station or work stations and the said moving parts in the loom. When the first element rotates in a first direction, the barrier is lowered and when the first element rotates in the opposite direction the barrier is raised. In a preferred embodiment the sheeting or the like rests on at least one elongated element. The said first element acts on the barrier or the material in order to lower or raise (or remove) it by way of belt-like members, which are fixed both to the first element and to the barrier, preferably to the inner/upper edge thereof. The edge of the barrier being lowered between the work station/work stations and the moving parts of the loom is provided with weights, which cause the down-turned part or section of the barrier to assume an essentially vertical position and for the rest to keep the downturned part in a stable position, so that the barrier can function effectively in the lowered position. The barrier is preferably composed of transparent PVC material and has a thickness of between 1 and 5 mm, preferably approximately 2 mm. In one embodiment a plastic sheeting, plastic matting or plastic netting is used, which extends along the entire width of the machine, that is to say the sheeting, matting or netting may therefore be 2-30 meters wide, for example. In the activated position the sheeting or the like also extends over the entire height of the work station/the machine, which may mean heights or lengths of 1 to 3 meters. In the case of larger machine widths the sheeting, matting or netting can be divided up into two or more sheeting, matting or netting parts, which can thereby be matched to one another at the joints. Activation/deactivation of the sheeting, matting or netting parts can thereby be coordinated or undertaken individually. The actuators for the motor (electric motor) for lowering or raising the plastic sheeting(s), plastic matting(s) or plastic netting(s) consist in a first embodiment of manual actuators, for example pushbutton actuators. In a preferred embodiment, however, the motor for the said lowering and raising operation(s) is coupled to the machine operating control element, so that if the functions that the machine performs or is to perform are pre-selected the operating control elements act upon the motor for lowering and raising the barrier(s). On cessation of each of the pre-selected functions the operating control elements act upon the motor for raising of the barrier(s). In a further embodiment of the idea of the invention one or more of the said elongated elements is/are arranged so as to be capable of rotating with the movements of the barrier(s) when lowering or raising it. Where netting is used in the barrier this may be composed of plastic or other suitable material with mesh sizes between 5 and 30 mm, for example, (depending on what parts the barrier is intended to provide protection against). The mesh size may in itself vary in one and the same barrier. The transparency of the barrier may be achieved by arranging windows of transparent material in an otherwise non-transparent barrier material.
With the solution proposed above use can be made of components already commercially available. A plastic sheeting of PVC plastic or similar fully transparent type is available on the general market. The electric motor arrangement for driving the first element can be designed using known means and the elongated elements used, which extend in the width direction of the machine, may consist of conventional components. The storage arrangement moreover utilizes a space in the machine that is not required by or does not encroach upon the function of the loom or other parts of the loom. The sheeting, matting or netting may be arranged as an effective noise protection that is activated during operation. The dust problem can also be solved by means of the arrangement. The sheeting or the material may in one embodiment take the form of a curtain, blind, etc.